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Explore Maui the right way —
with a guide. The beauty and storied past of this
majestic Hawaiian island can be overwhelming. Tour Maui’s windswept coast,
along the legendary Hana
Highway, past incredible waterfalls and beautiful landscapes. Discover
secret places and history that only a
local Maui guide can
reveal. You will leave with unforgettable Maui memories!***

“Get down,” I hiss to Doug,
who has scrambled up a grapefruit tree and loaded his arms with
huge, pink fruit. We have just completed a two-hour guided tour
of the award-winning grounds of the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel
& Spa. The landscape manager has invited our group to pick
fruit from the hotel’s orchard, where coffee and cacao flourish
among citrus, carambola and other tropical fruits. I’m mortified
that Doug has taken our guide so literally but the fruit is
exquisite, as is everything in this veritable Garden of Eden.

Surprisingly, this tour is
free. Just call the Concierge Desk to reserve a spot. Setting off
Thursdays at 10 a.m., the tour is an excellent introduction to
the lush flora on Maui. Dubbed the Valley Isle, Maui straddles
the Tropic of Cancer and is the second largest Hawaiian island.

The Grand Wailea Landscape
Tour is just one of the “freebies” offered by this world-class
luxury resort. A free guided Art Tour, on Tuesdays and Fridays at
10 a.m., leads you through the resorts $30-million collection of
paintings, sculptures, murals and artifacts. Picasso, Léger
and Warhol rub shoulders with Hawaiian and Pacific-region artists
like Satoru Abe and Shiga Yamada.

We
like to enjoy the art over a drink in the Botero Gallery Bar,
surrounded by the sensuous, oversize bronze figures by Fernando
Botero, one of the world’s most popular contemporary sculptors.
As we sip Lava Flows and Mai Tais, a parade of gowned and
bedizened brides head to the Wailea Seaside Chapel, set
amidst its own lagoon. This picture-perfect wedding spot is so
popular that even we were married there!

The elegant, “Gold Coast”
community of Wailea is our favorite corner of Maui. Voted
"best island in the world" by Condé Nast Traveler's
Readers' Choice poll every year from 1994 to 2002, Maui boasts
lots of "bests," many of them in Wailea — and many of them free
or reasonably priced for visitors in the know.

Even if you don’t stay in one
of Wailea’s pricey resorts — and we don’t — you can stroll
through their lush tropical gardens, sip aperitifs in their bars,
dine in their world-class restaurants and bask on their
well-groomed beaches. Just stay off the lounge chairs put out for
paying guests! All beaches on Maui are public and free. Most have
good public access, with free parking, clean showers and
washrooms.

Every morning, we walk the
beachfront path, from the Kea Lani Hotel at Polo Beach to
the Renaissance Wailea Beach Resort on Mokapu Beach. This
four-km walking and jogging route is a favourite of residents and
tourists. It offers spectacular vistas of the West Maui
Mountains, the neighbouring islands of Lanai and Kahoolawe, and
the almost submerged crater of Molokini. This offshore marine and
bird sanctuary is billed as one of the top 10 dive spots in North
America.

You can avoid the expense of
an expedition to Molokini by exploring the many reefs that jut
out from most of Wailea’s white sand beaches. At Ulua Beach,
for example, you can see dozens of varieties of tropical fish
only a few metres from shore. But beware: the fish are so tame
that snorkelers get swarmed when they feed them. You may spot the
stately humuhumunukunukuapua’a, or triggerfish, which adorns many
a tourist t-shirt along with its challenging Hawaiian name. While
underwater, listen for whales singing in the bay. Cetacean
concerts are one of the best cheap thrills on Maui’s Gold Coast.

Other
snorkeling “secrets”: look for sea turtles off the reef just
south of the Maui Prince Hotel; dinner-plate-size,
yellow-and-blue ulua fish hang out near shore behind the
Wailea Four Seasons Hotel. Each winter, I dependably
encounter a school of them as I swim the half-mile length of
Wailea Beach.

A
highlight of our morning walks is the Fairmount Kea Lani Hotel,
a play of white curves, arches and domes, courtyards and
fountains, set on 22 tranquil acres of tropical landscaping.
Harrison Ford, Goldie Hawn, Jack Nicholson and the Dallas
Cowboys’ star quarterback, Troy Aikman, are a few of the famous
who have slept here. The marble bathrooms in its suits are so
large and luxurious you could throw a party in them.

Fine dining is a Kea Lani
obsession. Throughout the year, the resort runs “Grand Chefs on
Tour,” a three-day culinary camp for guests, where the finest
chefs from Hawaii and “the mainland” lead cooking classes and
host wine tastings, luncheons and signature dinners. For a fresh
seafood dinner, try Nick’s Fishmarket at the Kea Lani. For
lighter, cheaper fare, we like gourmet pizza fresh from an
outdoor brick oven on the shady terrace of Caffe Ciao,
where orchid-like blossoms drift down from the trees.

While our favourite Maui
restaurant is far from cheap, it’s always a thrill to dine at the
Hali’Imaile General Store. A 20-minute scenic drive away
through swaying sugar cane fields, this award-winning
“up-country” restaurant offers an eclectic mix of Hawaiian,
American and international cuisine. Celebrity chef Beverly Gannon
is famous for her brie & grape quesadilla, rack of lamb Hunan
style and chocolate macadamia nut fudge pie!

Maui, with five major golf
destinations, is “golf heaven”. Wailea alone has three-award
winning courses. A few miles south, the 36-hole Makena course
has taken the Silver Award for best in America. If you’re
willing to settle for slightly less than “award-winning,” you can
golf for reasonable prices at public courses in nearby Kihei and
Wailuku Heights.

From
Wailea, you can take day trips to the historic whaling village of
Lahaina, to “Heavenly Hana” and its seven waterfall
pools, or up to the crater park on Mount Haleakala, a
dormant volcano.

Maui boasts more activities
than any other destination in the world. While that may be
hyperbole, the list is impressive: whale watching, cycling down
the steep twisting slopes of Haleakala, surfing, sail boarding,
boogie boarding, paragliding, snuba (a snorkeling-scuba cross),
sailing; tours by bus, boat, helicopter or submarine, and even
“up-country” horseback riding. Even here, the thrills are cheaper
if you use the discount coupons and special offers advertised in
the free tourist magazines found in local shopping malls.

Getting to
Maui

From Eastern Canada, the quickest, most convenient route is
Air Canada to Calgary, then Air Canada non-stop to Maui,
which gets you there by dinnertime. You can also fly non-stop on
Air Canada from Vancouver. Wailea is a 20-minutes drive from
Maui’s Kahului airport. Air Canada reservations:
1-888-247-2262 orwww.aircanada.ca

Start your vacation at the airport

When you fly Air Canada Business Class, pampering begins
at the airport. Arrive early to relax in the Maple Leaf Lounge
and enjoy such amenities as snacks, an open bar, and office
cubicles with phones and Internet connections. Once on board, you
can stretch out in your roomy seat (an impossibility in economy
class!)and sleep, when
you’re not sipping complimentary champagne or dining in style.
Priority luggage tags ensure that your gear arrives fast, usually
on a separate carrousel, so you can be first out of the airport
and onto the beach.